By Reuters Staff
Slideshow ( 3 images )
(Reuters) - The U.S. Interior Department said on Friday it has temporarily closed the Washington Monument because of a shortage of staff due to quarantines following a recent visit by Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, who is infected with the coronavirus.
“As we do in all circumstances when an employee attests to having COVID-19, we work with our public health officials to ensure all guidance from the CDC is followed, such as identifying close contacts and cleaning areas as appropriate,” Interior spokesman Nicholas Goodwin said in an email.
“The Secretary was recently at the Washington Monument. In working with our public officials and out of an abundance of caution, a couple of employees have quarantined resulting in a temporary workforce reduction at the monument and its temporary closure,” he said.
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By Reuters Staff
Slideshow ( 2 images )
(Reuters) - The U.S. Interior Department said on Friday it has temporarily closed the Washington Monument because of a shortage of staff due to quarantines following a recent visit by Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, who is infected with the coronavirus.
“As we do in all circumstances when an employee attests to having COVID-19, we work with our public health officials to ensure all guidance from the CDC is followed, such as identifying close contacts and cleaning areas as appropriate,” Interior spokesman Nicholas Goodwin said in an email.
“The Secretary was recently at the Washington Monument. In working with our public officials and out of an abundance of caution, a couple of employees have quarantined resulting in a temporary workforce reduction at the monument and its temporary closure,” he said.
Visit by COVID-infected official closes Washington Monument
by Ellen Knickmeyer, The Associated Press
Posted Dec 18, 2020 3:54 pm EDT
Last Updated Dec 18, 2020 at 3:56 pm EDT
The Trump administration abruptly closed the Washington Monument on Friday over exposure concerns from an earlier visit by Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, who tested positive this week for the coronavirus.
Interior spokesman Nicholas Goodwin said “a couple” employees have quarantined since the visit, “resulting in a temporary workforce reduction at the monument and its temporary closure.”
Goodwin said in an email the Washington Monument, normally one of the capital’s most visited sites, would reopen Monday, with tickets going on sale Sunday.
WASHINGTON Federal officials closed the Washington Monument to visitors on a temporary basis beginning Friday after U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, who led a private tour of the monument this week, tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
Interior Department spokesman Nicholas Goodwin confirmed the closure, which the Washington Post first reported. He said a couple employees at the monument were forced to quarantine as as result of Bernhardt s positive test, prompting the decision. As we do in all circumstances when an employee attests to having COVID-19, he said, the department worked with public health officials to follow proper guidelines such as identifying close contacts and cleaning areas as appropriate.